Troops on Raid to Catch Saddam Nab Five Suspects

ABBARAH, Iraq – U.S. soldiers operating on a tip that Saddam Hussein (search) was hiding in a farmhouse took five men into detention early Thursday but did not find the former Iraqi leader.

An informant told soldiers from the 588th Engineers Battalion, 4th Infantry Division (search), on Wednesday that Saddam was hiding in a farmhouse in this town not far from Baqouba, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad (search).

The tip proved false or late, but the five detainees captured in the raid were being questioned. One soldier was shot in the arm as the battalion left the village, but was not in serious condition, military authorities said on condition of anonymity.

They said the house that was raided was owned by an alleged Saddam loyalist, Khalid al-Dosh. It was not immediately known if he was among those detained.

The U.S. military has said it has Saddam on the run, forcing him to change locations every three to four hours. The search for the former Iraqi leader has focused on the region around his hometown of Tikrit, 120 miles north of Baghdad. His sons Uday and Qusay were killed July 22 in a ferocious firefight in Mosul, 240 miles north of Baghdad.

While U.S. forces have acted quickly on a number of tips that Saddam had been sighted, none of the raids conducted in search of him have panned out.

Officers with the 4th Infantry said a second informant told them that two wanted men, Hussein Ali Taha and Haji Abed also were in the house that was raided. It was not clear if the pair were among the five detained, nor did the military say for what the men were wanted.

The United States has offered a $25 million reward for information leading to the capture or killing of Saddam. The informant who told U.S. forces where they could find his sons was placed under U.S. protective custody, taken out of Iraq and has been paid $30 million -- $15 million each for Uday and Qusay.

U.S. officials in Iraq have said they believe the resistance to the U.S. occupation of the country will diminish once Saddam is caught and citizens no longer fear he might return to power.